Burn It Down
by I has a cheese burger
Summary: In response to losing the Ponds, the Doctor takes River's advice, despite not wanting to travel with anyone again because he is afraid of what will become of them. But he doesn't want to be alone. Will he succeed, or will his worst fears come true? Doctor/Rose pairing. Warning: *The Angels Take Manhattan Spoilers* *AU* Rating may change.
1. Prologue

**Story: Burn it down.**

**Summary: In response to losing the Ponds, the Doctor takes River's advice, despite not wanting to travel with anyone again because he is afraid of what will become of them. But he doesn't want to be alone. Will he succeed, or will his worst fears come true?**

**A/N : This is slightly AU such as facts concerning any romance River and the Doctor have do not happen and they are just very good friends. However, he feels more distant towards River after she rejected his offer to travel with him so he wasn't alone after Amy and Rory's departure.**

**Warning: Spoilers for all of the Pond era.**

**The main pairing is The Doctor/Rose**

X

Prologue

_Doctor, what matters is this. Don't travel alone._

He knew that he shouldn't be here. He had told himself more than once that travel between dimensions was impossible, and yet here he was.

He had no idea what had brought the thought into his head, but as soon as River had declared that hurtful, truthful, fact, he could think of nothing else.

But that wasn't what was striking a warning sign in the back of his mind. Before his adventure in Manhattan he had never dreamed he would have taken such a daring move. However, until his latest adventure in Manhattan, the Ponds had still been around.

River was right. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he needed someone. He knew more than anyone that traveling on his own was a very big mistake that he should try to avoid.

He hated himself more than anything. Hated himself for the pain he caused in people's lives. He hated the fact, most of all, that he could not live on his own because he could be such… a _monster_. Anything that he touched would eventually die, just as those he cared about would always fade before his eyes.

So here he was.

He leaned with both hands on the rim of the console. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to contain his emotions and set his mind at the task at hand. He pushed himself from the console and spun around on the ball of his foot, expecting a ginger's smile and a husband's waiting gaze. But instead faced nothing. An arising smile morphed to a frown and he dropped the dramatics.

"I wonder what Pond would say," He mused aloud.

Suddenly he stopped himself, before he could say more, and he raised his right hand to his face and wacked his forehead, hard with the butt of his palm. Anything to not think about his lost friends.

"Do Not Think!" He ordered himself dramatically before he turned his attention to the console screen, rubbing his throbbing head.

The TARDIS voiced her disapproval in the back of his mind, but he blatantly ignored her as he made his way around the controls, grabbing his coat, which hung limply on the railing, slipping it loosely on and making a quick exit.

X

Not much had changed since he had last been in this world. There were still those dominating zeppelins drifting through the sky, the strong smell of smoggy air, and a few billboards advertising Pete's latest money-making campaign.

_Pete's World__._

The Doctor didn't pay much attention to those around him as he drifted among a busy crowd of Londoners. He mused to himself of where he could start off in his search for his companion as he passed a newspaper stand. He pulled up a paper to get a better grasp of things.

'_Saturday 24__th__ August'_

"You'll have to pay for that!" An old man wearing a red hat warned him as he stood up from his chair beside the stall.

The Doctor peered up briefly to see where the voice was coming from then back down at the paper.

"I just want to know… the results of the football game," The Doctor lied continuing to skim read the cover article about casualties in an American war with Canada.

"A what? Give me two pounds fifty and you can have it!"

The Doctor looked back up at the old man. "I don't have any money."

"Then off with you!"

The Doctor folded the paper and shoved it back into the pile, retreating just as the old man was coming up, threatening to hit him with his walking stick. He made his way quickly through the gathering group of onlookers and dared a glance back to make sure the old man was not upon him, when suddenly he made impact with something in front of him, and he was falling back. For a few seconds he was in a daze with what just happened, and before he had a chance to even realize his position he felt a sharp pain on his left hand. The thing, or rather person, he had made impact with was crouching down beside him, looking slightly worried.

_This incarnation has always been a klutz._

"Are you alright, mate?" A woman's voice drew his attention.

The Doctor nodded, his vision drifting over the two people in front of him. Who would have ever thought, of all the people in that universe, the two people to kneel down in front of him would end up being a his own clone and Rose Tyler?

Before he had any chance to further marvel in his luck, his thoughts were pulled to a sudden sharp pain on his left hand. Slowly shifting the weight off his hands he pulled them back so he could examine the damage.

"That's a nasty cut you got there. Here, let me help you," Rose reached out to grasp the Doctor's hand lightly. He shivered as her warm touch came in contact with his throbbing skin.

The companion she was with hung back, just watching the scene before him, making no move to make his presence known. The Doctor watched Rose pull medical tape and some cloth from her backpack and begin to dress the wound. He didn't bother questioning why she would be carrying 'round such things when he noticed her hands and her arms were covered in scars. Had she had those scars when he saw her last? A tight swell of anger bubbled within as he contemplated how she could have obtained them.

He felt slightly nervous in the presence of Rose Tyler, being so close that he could smell her, and the eyes of his clone watching him silently as she worked on his hand. His hearts were knocking heavily against his chest.

_Please don't notice who I am_, he pleaded to himself as their eyes connected for a second.

As she touched his left hand his thoughts were interrupted by an old saying.

'_It's a fighting hand!__'_

Such a fond memory warmed his two hearts as he recalled that Christmas day, so long ago when he had fought a Sycorax in his jim-jams for the fate of the Earth. His left hand had been cut off, and because his recent regeneration he had been able to grow another in the place off it. That hand had followed him right up until he met Captain Jack, again. And in that jar it found a place in the TARDIS, and a place in Donna later, too.

He dropped his smile as he thought of Donna, his thoughts brushing over the clone situation, and he wondered for the first time if he had made the wrong decision in coming here. It seemed they were having a happy old human life together. And despite River having said he should not travel alone, Was he being selfish to expect that _she_ would abandon her life here to go off with him?

"There, that should do it," Rose dropped the Doctor's hand and looked at him oddly for a moment.

He could have been convinced for a second that his new face showed some forms of familiarity to her, but she seemed to shake it off rather quickly and pulled herself to her feet, offering a hand down to him.

His clone suddenly broke his silence in a very Doctor-like apology. An apology, despite coming from a clone of his tenth self, couldn't help but bring a small smirk to the Doctor's face. Rose laughed lightly, "Well I hope that I didn't do too much damage."

"It's alright," He stopped abruptly in search of something else to say, his eyes darting between the two, lingering for a moment longer on Rose.

"We didn't catch your name, what was it?" The clone asked sounding far too causal for the Doctor's own liking.

His answer came in a short reply, "Rory Pond."

The clone mused over this small revelation and then gave a glance at Rose. She sighed and put him out of his misery. "I'm Rose, and this is my friend John Smith."

_Friend?_

He knew that Rose had always been very open about whom she was or was not in a relationship with. But he couldn't help but doubt what she called a friend was just that. They kissed on the bloody beach for goodness sake!

"It was nice to meet you," He bowed his head slightly but couldn't quite uphold his depleting smile. "I suppose you have shopping to do, places to go… People to see."

The clone nodded reaching for his _friend's _hand. The Doctor mouthed a quick good bye and proceeded to leave before he came to a halt at Rose's sweet voice, calling out to him.

"Do I know you from somewhere?"

The Doctor spun around, his eyes speaking something he could never dare to say. He nearly contemplated giving up his whole act, but he pushed the longing far away into the depths of his self-conscious.

He looked upon Rose's form, took in a slow breath of air, exhaling evenly. In his voice they could still hear his pain as he muttered a few words.

"I'm sorry, I can't."

He turned and ran.

He was surprised at himself that he was able to travel so far before he was out a breath a few steps away from his TARDIS. He spoke to her in soft tones until his discomfort was soothed by her presence within him. He looked up at her, placing a hand on her wooden frame, and whispered to her.

"_You are right you know..." _He rubbed her affectionately and felt a warm reply in response.

"_But there is always him, I was a complete idiot and I left her with him."_

"_...Yes, Perhaps."_

"_Donna was a different story, and as you can see from my meeting with Rose today he's alive and well. She deserves someone better than me, someone who can promise her– "_

There was a short musical reply and the Doctor frowned at the TARDIS' sudden change in mind.

"_I came because River said..."_

At the lack of response he received from his ship the Doctor pulled his hand sharply away from the door, and snapped his finger repeatedly.

Nothing.

He frowned, thrusting a hand into his pocket to snatch his key out. He began to fiddle with the lock in hopeless desperation, giving up with the key still wedged in the door. He turned 'round to lean against the box frame, and sunk slowly down to its bottom.

He could feel her amused laughter ringing in the caverns of his head and when he sent her a message to let him in he was met by silence.

He let his head rest against the wood and send a soft echo into the woodwork. Left locked outside by his own TARDIS and nowhere else to go, he closed his eyes in deep thought, drifting between the last pages in his adventures with Pond, and his growing guilty conscious.

X

A big thanks to my beta: Falling Through Time!


	2. Chapter 1: The First Meeting

**Summary: In response to the Ponds departure, the Doctor takes River's advice, despite not wanting to travel with anyone again because he is afraid of what will become of them. But he doesn't want to be alone. Will he succeed, or will his worst fears come true?**

**X**

**Chapter one: The first Meeting**

**X**

He could sense something not right about the man as soon as he entered the café. He'd taken a seat by a vacant window and looked to the busy street outside. He had thought something was out of place as soon as Rose bumped into him on the street earlier that day. However strange he appeared – a young man wearing a tweed jacket and bow tie – it was not what put him off. It was his mere presence that felt very familiar to John, and yet so very… alien.

The beeping tune of his cellphone caught him off guard whilst midway through a cup of tea and stopped him from further observations. He placed the cup back in its saucer and picked the phone up from the table top. He held the phone up to his ear.

"Hello, John here," He looked down at his meal and then up again to the strange man a few tables away as he waited for the caller's response.

"Ok, I'll head over now and meet you there."

He muttered a brief goodbye before hanging up. He slipped his phone into his trouser pocket as he rose to his feet. He glanced briefly around the café before he realized the man that was there a second ago wasn't anymore. His stomach tightened slightly. Whoever he was, the curious Timelord inside had to find out.

John exited the café, quickly brushing passed foot traffic and searching the surrounding area until he spotted the man just passing a group of street musicians and escaping down a narrow alleyway. He followed knowing that his curiosity would likely earn him a harsh talk with Torchwood later, but he didn't care.

He peered down the side street and he could see the man rested no more than fifty meters away at the far end, seated upon a rubbish bin with his back turned to the entrance. He appeared to be speaking softly to himself. As John approached, he made sure to not make any noise that would likely spook him.

The man abruptly spun around as John stopped a comfortable distance away. He looked in a state of panic his arms flinging in all directions and his hair standing on end as he jumped from his place on the bin, seeing who had snuck up on him.

"Why did you have to do that for?" He snapped loudly.

John was in no mood for small talk. "Who are you?"

"Rory Williams, like I said."

"Pond. You were Rory Pond before, in the street."

His expression changed. First he became solemn, but then calm, which merged into a thoughtful smirk. His arms fell to his sides. He opened his mouth about to speak before his eyes scrunched up and he closed it. He brought his hands back up, one to lean and one to stroke his chin as he thought silently.

"Right… Yes."

His eyes looked back at John after a few seconds and his frown tilted into a small knowing smile. He appeared slightly frustrated at the same time.

"I am…" He stopped, almost appearing to have second thoughts about his revelation. "You. I am you. The Doctor, just with a new face."

John's stare became slightly cold and he nodded as it all made sense. He spoke with his eyes averted to the ground.

"I sensed you…" His eyes raked up and down the Doctor before finding a connecting stare with his biological equal. "In the café, as soon as you walked in."

"That's the Time Lord part of you calling-"

"Yeah," John pressed in irritably, "That was a big entrance you made on the street to get Rose's goo-goo eyes, with what? A cut hand…"

The Doctor briefly dipped down to look at his wrapped up hand. "That wasn't intentional." His glazed eyes moved back up to meet John's.

"Why are you here?"

"Same reason you are."

"Rose?"

"Yeah, and everything else…"

The Doctor waited for his human self to say anything more. When he didn't, he decided he better be the one to start. It seemed it was turning out to be a gun battle of sorts between the two of them.

"Donna," He began slowly.

"What about her?"

"She died because of what you did to her."

Anger flashed through John's eyes, "Me? How can you blame anyone for what happened to her?"

"You took her human genetics, and the Timelord part inside of her couldn't cope. It would have killed her if I didn't do something."

"Do you want to know what I think?" John's voice was slightly bitter and as he spoke he fought to repress his anger, which was steadily building.

"I think that maybe Rose has moved on with her life, and you are still living in your past. And that my friend is why you are here." He smirked coldly, giving off the impression he was a clone of the Master rather than the Doctor. "She told me just recently if she had the chance to see you again she wouldn't want to see you."

"Really?" The Doctor asked, his voice sounding surprised and slightly shaky.

"She has taken your advice," He continued, nodding as he went. "So I'm quite sure that your presence in her life now might disrupt that peace and break the foundations of the happy life she has built for herself. So I'm sure I don't need to ask you to do anything because I know you won't do anything to hurt her. I have some business to attend to so I suppose this is good bye."

The harsh revelation from the human John Smith struck the Doctor right between both his hearts. He felt slightly winded and at a loss for words. John leered at the imprint his words made on the Doctor and took one last satisfying look at the Timelord before he turned tail and left him, mouth agape. Alone once more.

X

He knew the TARDIS would refuse him entry, even for a place of sanctuary from the overwhelming thoughts swimming in his mind. So he found himself walking into a bed and breakfast to find a room to stay the night. He spent the whole night lying upon his back on the bed watching the lights from cars stray across the ceiling, the moonlight reflecting shadows, and the comforting emblem of darkness as he went over and over in his mind about what John had said to him.

It hurt to think that Rose didn't want to see him, even if it was only just to catch up. He knew that if he were to have a proper meeting with her and recalled to her what he had been up to he would find he wouldn't be able to let go very easily. Maybe that's why she had told John those things; they were too like-minded for their own good.

He rubbed a hand over his face to suppress his sorrow and wiped a thin layer of sweat from his face. He sat up deciding right then what he would do. He didn't care if it was true since he had come too far already, and there was no point trying to run now. Even if he wanted to, the TARDIS was trying to prove a point; that this could only end in disaster, and she wouldn't allow him to escape. Wish granted.

He left his door ajar as he made his way down the stairs, out into the entrance hall, and out into the street where a cold breeze hit him in the night. He could see a closed computer hotspot not too far away. Locked, but nothing his sonic screwdriver couldn't handle. A few zaps later and he was in the building. After turning off of all the alarms he sat before a screen and brought up a search engine. He typed in a few key words for Torchwood.

He wasn't surprised not much came up. Probably because they had staff monitoring what was published about their secret organization on the internet as a full time job. He quickly typed some computer code to override the blocks, and then he'd found their main website easily enough.

His hearts warmed slightly as an image of Pete appeared in a sidebar looking professional and commanding. In the caption under it read 'Head of Torchwood London.

'"So, your head of Torchwood now… Why am I not surprised?"

He clicked on a link which took him to a few contact details of different Torchwood employees. He pulled out a pen and paper from his pocket and jotted down Pete's cellphone number, and that of, Rose and his clone.

He nodded a silent thanks to the machine before typing in a few names into the search bar of the Torchwood website. He typed in 'Rose Tyler', and the results came up with a few articles of information talking about her position and her relation to the head of the organization, nothing much he didn't know. He finally typed in 'John Smith' afterwards. A whole list of pages came up. One involved his clone receiving a reward for bravery and another for earning the rank: General.

He decided to make his exit while he could and gathered all the information he had gained. Contact information that might give him inside information in to John's claims. Something wasn't quite right about his clone, which was also probably something he wanted to have a look into whilst he were here.

He cleared all the search data with his sonic and then he left the place as he found it, his mind working quickly as it constructed a plan of action. He would not return to the bed and breakfast. He walked down the street intent on returning to the TARDIS to construct a good argument to allow him back in so he could prepare a few things.

X

**3 Years Previously**

X

Jackie balanced a warm cup of tea between both hands as she leaned forward watching a little boy run around among the trees that lined the perimeter of the lawn. He raced around followed shortly after by a little snowy dog, a joyous grin on his face. She pulled her gaze from the scene for just a moment and took a sip from her cup before focusing back on her Tony.

"It seems like only yesterday he was just learning to talk, now look at him."

She smiled towards Pete who had suddenly appeared on the porch leaning against a nearby wall, his eyes looking out towards his son.

"I remember when Rose used to be that young," Jackie watched the boy giggle playfully as the dog caught up with him. "There was a boy on the estate that was three years older and he could have played with any other kid, but he chose my Rose."

Pete laughed and he looked down at his wife. "Mickey?"

"Who else?"

They laughed, but neither seemed up for something so light as an emotional weight seemed to pull them back down.

"Pete, how is she?"

"I think you, more than anyone, would know that this week hasn't been easy for her. Ever since he-"

"Lets not talk about it, yeah?"

Jackie tightened her grip on the mug as she drew her attention back to her son who appeared to be rolling around in the grass, filling the air with fits of playful squealing as the dog him attacked with licks. Pete nodded and then moved to join her in a seat beside her own. He spoke softly after a period of silence.

"She's asleep right now."

"Good."

In the end, despite herself, she again began to open the box she tried to contain her thoughts in.

"Pete, do you think _he _is wrong?" She placed her mug down on the porch and stared across at Pete.

Pete reached out to take his wife's hand, "It doesn't matter what I think. All that matters is that my family is safe and well… Maybe, if I talk from a neutral standing point, it seems that he has been proven wrong more than once. But as I said, if he were able to return…"

Jackie murmured and lifted her head up from his chest. "All I want is what's best for Rose. If he were to come back? I'm not sure I would be able to take much more of this, because how do we even know it would happen again!"

"Let's just agree that _if_ such an event were to happen we would let Rose make the final decision?" Pete squeezed Jackie's hand lightly. She looked defeated at the prospect, but she knew Pete was right. So she nodded in acceptance before she could change her mind.

"Besides, she's got John now, and isn't that something?"

"I suppose you're right," She mused. "He's just like him, only human. So maybe seeing the world from our point of view will make him grow some manners and understanding."

"How about we order some chips tonight and we can invite the gang around just for the sake of it! Now love, let's go inside. You can go have a chat with Rose whilst I arrange the whole affair and we can just all have a nice relaxing night," Jackie nodded gratefully at Pete. "And maybe seeing John will cheer Rose up a bit."

Pete nodded, leaning over to kiss her lovingly on the lips before pulling back and going to call Tony inside. Jackie smiled hopefully for the first time that evening as she retrieved her mug and drifted inside to dispose of it in the dish washer.

She had just closed the door to the washer when her mind suddenly took her back to when she first came to the Tyler manor. She let a lot of the servants off as she found she was quite bored during the day whilst Pete was at work and Rose was locked away in her room. She did keep a few, mainly for the company. There was one called Janet who lived a few miles from the house. She was in her mid-forties, so being of similar ages the two got on well. Besides Janet there was also the Gardener, Albert, an old man that was quite protective of his garden's upkeep, but despite that, he was a nice man.

Jackie had made many friends in the village quickly because of the _other_ Jackie's relationship with them. Thinking about a dead version of herself made her feel slightly odd and laugh as she recalled people's expressions when they saw she had been alive all this time in hiding with a loss of memory until a week ago.

She made sure she was never confined to just the walls of the manor, and friends made the thought of living in a parallel world easier. She thought over this as she made her way up the stairs and wondered, if Rose found something to live for besides the constant reminder of her past, she might finally be happier.

Rose wouldn't give in easily, but maybe if she was given a small push in the right direction she would find motivations for such things.

Jackie pondered this as she made her way down the hall to find her daughter.

X

Rose stirred in her sleep at the sound of a single knock. She was ready to ignore whoever waited behind the door and drift back into the world of her dreams, but the universe had other plans.

"Rose, it's me."

Rose shifted in her bed pulling herself up into a sitting position facing the direction of the door. She didn't say a word, listening for her mother's next moves.

"Rose I know you're awake… I just want to talk to you."

She could sense the pleading in her voice but despite this Rose was not ready for human contact. A few more knocks and pleads from her mother eventually made her give in.

"I'm 'ere."

Jackie slipped inside the room leaving the door ajar. She approached Rose's bed and found a spot beside her daughter.

"We're having chips with the crew. It would be nice if you could come and join everyone."

Rose pulled her legs into her chest, wrapping her arms around them and using her knees as a place to rest her chin as she thought briefly for a moment.

"And you know that if you stay in here everyone's going to come up here anyway cause…" Jackie took a deep breath to give her a moment to contain her thoughts. "We worry about you darling."

Rose did not reply straight away as she contemplated her mother's offer, but then the thoughts that had been occupying her mind that whole month weighed down on her and her mother's presence took her to a breaking point.

She let out a small sob as salty droplets gathered in her eyes and she reached up with her sleeve to wipe the first fallen tear from her check. Not daring to look in the direction of her mum, she fixed her gaze onto a mark on the wall ahead of her.

"He left me Mum… and it's just so hard. Because he's not _him_, he's John."

Jackie shuffled closer to her daughter and pulled her in for a hug. She gave into her mother's touch and slowly returned the hug, finding a place to bury her face in Jackie's shoulder where she could let go of the sorrow that she had been gripping on to for so long. Her eyes grew heavy and tears trickled down her checks as she cried for her loss. Jackie rubbed her arm whilst speaking comfortingly.

"Now I know that man is perhaps one of our greatest blessings, just look what I have here. But when I see you in this state, I can see his other side. But let's not dwell on what was or what could have been, but on what is. He wouldn't have wanted you to spend your life looking back; let's live now, in the present, and not worry about the past."

Rose's sniffling was quieter by the time Jackie had finished. For a moment she could have believed that her daughter was asleep, but then she pulled her head up from her shoulder, taking a deep breath as she wiped away some tears.

"Rose, you don't have to explain yourself at all to me," She attempted a smile in reassurance to her daughter.

They sat calmly in silence for a while until a call from Pete downstairs brought them back to reality.

"How about I get you a cup of tea, yeah?"

"That better not be the stuff that Janet makes," Rose laughed softly, feeling the weight of sadness slowly lifting.

Jackie returned an amused grin and laughed. "You better not tell Jan, she'll have your head for that! Might use it the next time she cleans the kitchen floor!"

They both shared another friendly session of giggles before Pete called for help downstairs once more.

"You better have a shower; clean yourself up before everyone arrives. I have to go help Pete. I don't think having an army of chefs for most of his life has helped his cooking skills, and he might do something drastic!"

"Mum, serves you right for firing all the cooks!" Rose shouted back playfully and her mother made her exit from the room.

She pulled herself to her feet, leaving a trail of her bed covers on the floor as she made her way to the bathroom to have a very long shower with the knowledge that when she was done she would have a warm cup of tea waiting for her.

X


	3. Chapter 2: An idea

**Summary: In response to the Ponds death the doctor takes River's advice, despite not wanting to travel with anyone again because he is afraid of what will become of them. But he doesn't want to be alone. Will be succeed or will his worst fears come true?**

**X**

**Chapter two: An idea**

**X**

A piece of paper scribbled with gallifreyan sat comfortably in the palm of The Doctor's hand. He sat in the jump seat tracing the words affectionately with the tip of his thumb, using the console as a footstall and holding a phone to his ear.

_Well I suppose this is it._

He jabbed the numbers into the receiver and applied the call button.

With every awaiting beep the thrusting of his hearts became gripped in mounting nerves. Luckily he was answered after the 3rd beep.

"Hello?"

Her voice was just has he remembered it from earlier like a song to his ears that he could listen to all day. Quickly before he lost her he dropped his feet down and leaned forward to jab a few directions into the scanner before it began to trace the location of the caller.

He heard her voice out an impatient hello which nearly adding a reply to go with it but he knew that if he did he wouldn't have any hope explaining how he had got her number, nor my he was calling her at four in the morning.

He heard the line went dead and he hoped the Tardis had had enough time to gather all the data in time he slipped the device back on its charger and discarded it on the ground beside the console.

Placing both hands on either side of the scanner as he quickly read a list of directions coming forth before him. Once memorised he slipped the paper into his trouser pocket patted the console lightly.

"Better not scare the old girl."

The console bleeped in a tentative response before the Doctor sent her a reassuring argument back which seemed to calm her slightly. He had his sonic out within a second setting it to home on to the co-ordinates the phone call picked up on. After buzzing it a few times it began to make a distant beeping sound which would be satisfying enough.

"There that should do it."

He smiled broadly at his accomplishment and without a second thought he was racing out of the console room, device pointed out in front of him.

X

He close it seemed as he marched down a winding path which ran along a concrete complex of apartment buildings and on the other a patch of lush grass.

The sun was just beginning to rise behind a far off skyline of distant trees and skyscrapers, illuminating the sky with brilliant colours of blue, orange and red. This scene reminded the Doctor of the skies of a distant planet he had once visited in his younger days.

He followed the path until it led him off into a yard boarded by apartments. In his own universe he remembered what estates rested on the same ground appeared. This was very different. It was very modern and looked like the perfect housing for an upper-class citizen, a small garden outside each balcony and quite large divisions between each singular two story apartment.

His sonic homed onto an apartment two doors down which gave him all the assurance that he needed that he was in the right location.

To play the part if he he pulled a bandage from out of his pocket and wrapped it around his healed hand, slipping his sonic into his pocket after switching the setting off. He checked his appearance in the glass of a window before waltzing up to the door.

He glanced at the time on his watch which indicated half-passed six in the morning.

He readied himself before holding one closed fist to the door and knocking lightly. He pulled back to await a response.

He heard rustling from behind the door.

And slowly his hearts began to race.

The silhouette of someone could be seen in the frosted window of the door and then they began to fiddle with a few locks.

His eyes suddenly bulged and his instincts kicked into panic mode.

_What was he thinking? He couldn't do this now!_

Before it was swiftly pulled open, he bolted for a space to hide from view, behind a concrete wall seemed safe enough. He had reached the edge of the yard and into a place of hiding as he heard the door swing open.

"Hello?"

He was sure he hadn't been seen but to make sure he stayed as still as he could listen for any signs of movement ahead. Curiously as he dared a quick peep at the end to see if she had followed him and sure enough she stood in the middle of the yard with a dressing gown wrapped around her searching the area around. He pulled his head back quickly as she spun around to look his away.

_Shit _

He held his breath as he thought he sensed her moving slowly in his direction, his body going tense as with every passing second she was a step closer from discovering him.

The sounds of jogging could be heard faintly running along concrete becoming clearer as voices chattering away pulled Rose's attention away. The human Doctor ran swiftly into the yard.

He gave a sigh of relief as the breath he had been holding eased out of his mouth and his muscles relaxed allowing his hearts to slow to their normal pace. He clenched his eyes shut and leaned his head back against the wall.

_You are a lucky sod._

"Rose _it_ is active again."

"Caused the whole Torchwood compound to lose power, but don't worry its back on now," a British soldier's voice said not far behind John. "Mr. Tyler has asked from you opinion on the matter."

There was a moment's pause and the Doctor looked over into the gathering. The two men were stationed around Rose, their backs to him, and she was looking directly his away, he couldn't tell if it was at him or the armed men.

"Trust you lot to make a grand entrance," Rose pointed out. "What will they think if they saw me being taken off by an armed solider?"

The men did not reply and she indicated to her attire. "I'll just go get something respectable on."

She turned to move back inside beckoning the two men to follow her. The Doctor waited until her heard the door slame shut before he made his move and snuk up to find a place near the door.

X

_Two and a half years ago_

X

_It had been going so well. _

_She hid crouched in a cupboard listening intensely for his drunken state. She knew he was in pain but she would not give him any sympathy. He was human and it was killing him inside._

_She held her breathe as she heard a faint slapping sound on the bathroom door and heavy footsteps on the floorboards. It could have been the housekeeper for all she knew, but then she remembered that there was none here, only John._

_She felt sorry for him sometimes. On days where he sat silently imagining how lonely his head must be without the Tardis' presence._

_She had let him in for a whole month. Let him love her like she might have loved the Doctor. But she knew deep down she could never do that to herself._

X

Rose a merged freshly clothed from her room a few moments later and she asked:

"What the hell are you lot standing round for?" As she entered the lounge, drawing the attention of John and the British solider.

_The Doctor from his hiding spot could hear the faint sounds of movement and conversation from behind the front door he was knelt down behind with his ear against the wood._

John looked across at her his expression slightly off. The sole solider nodded to Rose and him before the two moved out into the hall and close the door on the solider for some privacy.

Rose's attempt at a smile faded and she came up to stand closer to John so she could speak without being overheard. "Are you alright?"

"Just fine, everything's all peachy," His voice sliced through bitterly which warned her to not get too close. He sounded slightly additated from when she had caught up with him yesterday and his eyes didn't quite meet hers as they seem to be searching about the place.

John knew why Rose did what she did and he just didn't want to take her sympathy.

"Is it Pete?" She asked bluntly.

Her bluntness drew his averted stare up to look into Rose's eyes, his jaw drawing-up tightly.

"No," He spat a little too quickly for her liking.

"Torchwood?"

"No!"

"Me?"

There was a prolonged silence and if one of them was about to break it the conversation was interrupted by the voice of the British solider speaking out. "We really need to get going and talk about that other thing Miss."

"What about?"

"Your resignation."

There was a sigh on Rose's part which said that she had been down this road before. The conversation came to a halt as what sounded like a phone call drew the speaker's attention to it. Once a quick once sided conversation had ended the man spoke.

"Your father has just called. He said we need to get down there now."

This seemed to get Rose's full attention. "Fine, but this is the last time!"

The Doctor's eyes widened in realisation stumbling to his feet he turned he raced back to his hiding spot just in time for the three humans to come wandering out. He didn't trust himself to breathe until the three figures drifted passed without a single glance.

The human clone was more cautious in his exit moving slowly as he followed his friend out, his eyes shifting around as he passed the Doctor and vanished from sight.

X

_You know Doctor that on some planets what you are doing would be called invading a girl's privacy._

"Yeah, well Pond maybe I like doing what you call 'invading girl's privacy'," The Doctor retorted aloud to a Scottish voice within his mind. "Take the queen of clom, for example, I invaded her personal bedroom chambers and let's just say she is not a virgin for making out anymore!"

Slipping his sonic screwdriver back into his trouser pocket he pulled at the door to Rose's apartment and entered quickly before anyone saw him. He flicked the inside lock behind him and glanced around at his surroundings. He stood in a rather ordinary entrance hall which had a staircase leading up and a wide door frame leading into an open planned kitchen and dining room/lounge.

He made himself a cup of tea using various items he found around the place. When he held a newly made mug to his lips for a first sip it suddenly hit him. He had not had a proper cup of tea ever since he regenerated nor had he touched chips. He pulled the mud back from his lips, leaning against the kitchen bench he made a mental note to take Rose out first thing for some chips.

He couldn't help but smile as her name was spoken in his mind. He was in her house, her flat and she was just a few blocks away wherever this new Torchwood just happened to be.

He discovered a wallet and car keys discarded on the bench and a graduation certificate hanging on the wall above a television from some university in medicine and he fondly smiled at that. He left the half-finished cup of tea on the bench and ascended the stairs to the upper floors seeking out more clues about this new Rose he had not seen for nearly five years.

A half-opened door caught the Timelord's eyes as he reached the peak of the stairs. His curiosity mounted pushing him further despite the knowledge that she could return at any moment.

He pushed the door open and slipped into the room which contained a singular bed, neatly made, pushed up right against a far wall, under a large window which had drawn curtains to gave the room a more darkened effect.

There were no objects, pictures or clothes which told of someone's life living in the tiny space expect one small aspect of the room, a tiny picture frame on a bedside table. The Doctor moved to find a spot on the bed where he could sit and reach down to observe the picture.

He grabbed it gently and pulled it up to get a good look at it.

His smile crawled up his face as he recognised fondly the two occupants of the photo.

It was of Jackie and his tenth self on Christmas. It was one of the fondest moments of this regeneration when Rose had accepted him into her family and not just as a friend (Before all the complications and separation).

He had spent a long time studying the photo, remembering a life long ago.

He wondered if Rose will like his new face. He had known she had fancied his other form through Cassandra's confessions on New Earth and the horrible goodbye at Bad Wolf Bay. This one was younger and very different.

These thoughts of meeting Rose again as the Doctor and not some hopeless human she had met on the street reminded him of the human's warning.

What if the clone was lying? That would change everything. What if Rose had been alone trying to find a way back to him?

He wondered helplessly in his thoughts causing his anxious thoughts to return and doubt. He closed his eyes and left his back fall backwards into the covers of the bed and he sought desperately to clear his thoughts.

His mind suddenly caught onto a single idea. A very clever one if he was to same so himself. It wouldn't hurt trying to seek out some answers from Rose herself about the _other him's_ claims. Not as himself though, that wouldn't do. He placed the picture back on the bedside table, swinging his legs over the bed and back onto to his feet just as he heard the clicking sound like that of an unlocking door.

Remembering the window, he had his sonic out by the time he was standing upon the bed. He pushed the window latches away and lifted up the window then without a second glance he lifted his legs one by one through the window and pulled himself through. He closed the window behind him and used his sonic to fuse the edges together.

He was on a rackety staircase; he assumed was for the purpose of a fire escape, attached to the side of her building. It wobbled as the Doctor made his away quickly down and the bolts connecting it to the brick wall squeak slightly. Once he reached the ground safely he made a quick detour for a collection of bins which he could hide behind until he was sure the danger of discovery had passed.

Seeing his photo occupying a personal space of her room must mean something right? He couldn't recall seeing any other photos of people around… Did this give him firm evidence that the _human_ was wrong?

He decided he would wait at least half an hour before he would put his sort-of-plan into action. Not just because if would look suspicious otherwise but meanly because he figured it would take him that long to calm down to a state where he would be able to act fairly believable.

X

Forty minutes later he stood before the door playing with the bandage around his hand. He double checked his reflection in the doors window before drawing in a deep breath to compose himself and he knocked on the door.

He bit his tongue and held his breath as the door seemed to swing open just as he took a step back.

She looked surprised seeing who stood at her doorstep; both eyebrows raised high and her mouth slightly open.

"Hello!" He found himself saying cheerfully. Looking down at his bandaged hand he pulled it up and gave her a brief wave. He dropped back to his side and their eyes connected for a slit second and then hers averted to look at his hand.

Her brows dropped into a confused frown before she suddenly registered who the strange man before her was.

"Hi," She said slowly and the Doctor could tell straight away she was searching for something to say. "Rory was it?"

Her eyes darted back to his and her confused expression had morphed into a small smile.

"Rory?" The Doctor questioned.

"Yeah, that's your name isn't it?"

His eyes widened in realisation. How could he be so stupid? "Exactly!"

He dropped his eyes in embarrassment and tried to find some quick away to revive himself. "Rose isn't it?"

"Yeah," her voice was quieter than it had been. "So how did you find me? _Why_ did you find me?"

"Before," He began. "I was running in the park, just next door from here, and I saw you and your… friend? Coming out from this flat and I decided that I wanted to thank you personally for helping me with my wrist because I don't think I had said it before."

"It's nothin'," Rose assured him bemused at his confession. "All I was doing was my job. Come in I'll make you a cuppa."

She beckoned the man she called Rory inside and she continued her explanation as he followed her into her into the kitchen. "I work as a Doctor you see for the army but I'm thinking now I might turn my tools in to see if I can get a job at a local hospital…"

She pulled two cups out of an overhead cupboard and placed them on the bench side-by-side. She flicked the kettle on then turned to the man standing in the door frame of her kitchen.

"So what do you do for a profession?" She asked causally leaning her back up against the bench and watching him intently.

The Doctor smirked at the domesticness of the whole situation and the brilliant woman that stood before him. He just couldn't quite believe it still that she stood as plain and real as day, so close he could touch, taste, feel…

"I am a Doctor as well," He wondered into the kitchen and pulled himself onto a barstool. "I'm just on holiday right now."

"What department?"

"I specialise in all fields of Doctor-ing."

The kettle popped and Rose's attention was averted for a moment as she produced a teabag from a container labelled 'tea' from a shelf and popped it into the first cup. She began to walk over to the fridge.

"What sort of tea do you like?"

"Oh you know me," The Doctor grinned forgetting himself for a moment, as if they were doing this sort of stuff like old days aboard the TARDIS as The Doctor and Rose and not Rory and Rose. "Milk and no sugar unless there is a special occasion."

Rose seemed to ignore his comment as she finished mixing up the tea and cleaning up quickly. She brought over his cup and as he reached across to take it from her he felt a surge of sparks race through his fingertips as the graced her skin lightly.

He could feel his face reddening.

Rose seemed comfortable to stand on the opposite side of the bench from the Doctor leaning against its surface with her elbows, her stomach on the edge as she cupped the mug with both hands.

"We might be in the same hospital then?"

"Unlikely," The Doctor retorted quickly. "I am just visiting London to see a friend; I actually work at a complex in Africa."

"Wouldn't that be a bit dangerous," Rose exclaimed, looking concerned. "With the war I would be surprised the government would let a foreigner in."

"I have special permissions."

He took a big gulp of his tea and swallowed it sharply. Rose was staring at him once she had finished her tea as if she had suddenly come to notice something about him that confused her. He raised an eyebrow with the last of the tea swelling round in his mouth.

"What's with the outfit?"

His mouth broke into a toothy smile and he laughed softly; He had always admired her curiosity.

With the empty mug forgotten on the bench he drew both hands to either side of his bowtie to straighten it out replying causally. "Bow ties are cool."

There was a rough knocking on the door to the flat which drew Rose's attention from the Doctor she looked in the direction of the sound and pulled herself back from the bench.

"Rose!" A voice called which caused the Doctor's insides to twist.


End file.
